Preparing for New 'Wall Street' Film, LaBeouf Made $630K Investing

This weekend Oliver Stone's 23-year delayed sequel to his original Wall Street film comes out. The new one, Money Never Sleeps, features Shia LaBeouf, a promising young actor best known as the lead in the Transformer movies. He took the role as a young Wall Street hotshot very seriously, reportedly hanging out with actual bankers and traders to understand the work and lifestyle. He also claims to have invested some of his own money -- and had unbelievable success. Stacy Curtin of Yahoo's Tech Ticker reports:

"First thing I did was I took $20,000 out. Went down to the Schwab office in Encino [Calif.]. Walked in, said 'Hey, I know nothing. I am making this movie.' [They] set me up with all the Series 7 stuff," says LaBeouf, referencing the SEC exam that individuals working in the securities industry must pass.

How did he do? That original $20,000 is now $650,000 according to LaBeouf. That's a return of 3,150% in what was likely a year or two. LaBeouf may be one of the most talented actors of his generation, but he should give movies and open his own hedge fund if he can pull in returns like that in his spare time.

Daniel Indiviglio was an associate editor at The Atlantic from 2009 through 2011. He is now the Washington, D.C.-based columnist for Reuters Breakingviews. He is also a 2011 Robert Novak Journalism Fellow through the Phillips Foundation.
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Indiviglio has also written for Forbes. Prior to becoming a
journalist, he spent several years working as an investment banker and a
consultant.